The Allahabad High Court has acquitted two people convicted over the drowning deaths of three young children, finding that an uncorroborated and apparently tutored child witness could not sustain the verdict.
In Priyanka v State of Uttar Pradesh, 2026:AHC:198410-DB, the trial court had imposed life imprisonment on both accused and a death sentence on Priyanka. The High Court identified contradictions in the eight-year-old witness’s account, delays in recording the statement and evidence of tutoring.
The prosecution also failed to examine the village head whose report first brought police to the scene. That omission justified an adverse inference because the witness could have clarified the origin of the case. Irregularities in the first report, site plan and investigation deepened the doubt. The court set aside all convictions, rejected the death reference and ordered both appellants released unless required in another case.
